The Imperial College London Biomechatronics Laboratory was established in 2011 within the Department of Mechanical Engineering to addresses theoretical and experimental challenges posed by the application of robotic and electro-mechanical systems to real-world issued faced in medicine and biology. Mechatronics is the synergistic combination of precision engineering, electronic control, and systems thinking in the design of products and manufacturing processes.

We view Biomechatronics as its extension fused with influence from biological systems; i.e. mechatronic systems designed based on inspiration from neural and physiological systems. In animals, for example, intrinsic properties of the musculoskeletal system augment the neural stabilization of the organism for an array of critical of functions. Modelling this hierarchical coupling for implementation in robotic systems has spurred innovation in medicine, cybernetics, and mobile robots.

Our research focuses on mechanisms of sensory-motor control, specifically with respect to systems-level coupling between mechanics and neurophysiology. The core hypothesis is the idea that complex behavior emerges from the interaction of an entity with its environment and as a result of sensory-motor activity; interactions among a breadth of subsystems must be tuned and adapted to achieve this objective.

Supported by sponsors from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), UK-India Educational Research Initiative (UK-IERI), US Office of Naval Research Global (ONR-G), Singapore Temesek Defence Systems Institute (TDSI) and the Dyson Foundation the Biomechatronics team is fusing techniques from neuroscience, sensor development, artificial intelligence, modelling, and robotics. Our systems have been fabricated as platforms for clinical studies, mobile robots for remote inspection, human augmentation (e.g. exoskeletons, prosthetics), and tele-operated manipulation systems.